Bedroom slipper with rubber and leather sole



March 7, I HQZA I 2,499,751

' V BEDROOM SLIPPER WITH RUBBER AND LEATHER SOLE Filed June 30, 1947 JNYENTOR. John Hnza.

Patented Mar. 7, 1950 UNITED BEDROOM SKIPPER WITH RUBBER AND LEATHER SOLE John I-I'oza, Belcamp, Md.

Application June 30, 1947, Serial No. 758,070

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to shoes, and primarily to what is commonlyknown as bedroom slippers and the like, and is a continuation-impart of my co-pending application, filed June 19, 1946, Serial No. 677,785, now Patent No. 2,437,030, granted March 2, 1948, which is a continuation-inpart of my application, filed December 28, 1944, Serial No. 570,142, now abandoned.

I am aware it is old in the art to make-bedroom slippers of soft cushion-like material, with the soles made of rubber or the like, to give limited stability to the shoe and comfort to the wearer. However, I have found this type of shoes or so-called slippers soon wear out, due to the fact that they are not always limited to bedroom use.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a bedroom shoe or so-called bedroom slipper constructed in the main from soft-like cloth or fabric material, and a fabric inner sole, with a flexible mid-sole of vulcanized rubber, and a leather outer sole permanently and integrally attached to the rubber mid-sole, and so tied-'or secured in place by a vulcanized foxing strip secured to the upper, the mid-sole and the leather outer sole, asto form a substantial shoe structure. Such a construction insures a typical bedroom slipper or shoe, and at the same time. pro vides a strong slipper having effective comfort and wearing propensities.

In my co-pending applications, I haveclaimed the location and arrangement of the stitches between the fabric upper and the elements forming the sole of the shoe. In the present application, I broadly make use of the stitching disclosed in the co-pencling applications, and couple this feature with a rubber mid-sole, a leather outer sole, and a foxing strip to effectively tie the upper and the elements forming the improved sole together. Therefore, one of the essential objects of the invention is to utilize the foxing strip to so engage the edges of the mid-sole and leather outer sole and the lower portion of the fabric upper to secure the parts together in a unitary shoe structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bedroom slipper or shoe, having its upper and inner sole stitched together some distance from the sides of the shoe, with the ends thereof embedded in a vulcanized rubber mid-sole, and through the medium of a vulcanized foxing strip, tie the edges of the mid-sole, and leather outer sole and the lower portion of the upper, together.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of my improved shoe.

Fig; 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic transverse section showing the parts separated.

The improved slipper or shoe consists of an upper l of flexible fabric or other appropriate material with a lining 2; a two-part fabric and rubber inner sole 3; a-vulcanized rubber midsole- 4 with a fabriclining 5; a leather outer sole 6; and a foxing strip 1.

In the formation of the shoe, the upper l lining 2 and inner sole 3 are secured together in defining the shoe outline as by stitching 8, to form a skeleton.

The skeleton-shoe isforced on a last which is wider and' longer than the area within the outline of the stitches, so that the lower portionof' the upper is turned in at an angle=tothe outside of the shoe and in the same horizontal plane as the inner sole as shown at 9 and thus this turned-in part forms a part of the bottom ofthe shoe.

The turned-in portion 9' of the upper, extends inwardly from the sides of the shoe a distance not less than one eighth of an inch, and not more than one quarter of an inch, hence the line of stitches is remote from the walls of the shoe to provide a part of the bottom.

In applying the skeleton to a last, the whole bottom of the shoe, which includes the inner sole and the turned-in portion 9 of the upper, isstretched in all directions. When stretched on the last the ends of the fabric upper and inner sole project beyond the outline of the bottom of the shoe to form an anchor l0.

Then a coating of cement H is applied to the under side of the inner sole 3, and the mid-sole 4 composed of vulcanizable rubber and layer of canvas 5 is cemented to the inner sole 3. The canvas terminates within the area of the stitches so that the anchor can be imbedded in the mid-sole, The mid-sole extends beyond the outline edge of the skeleton, as shown at 12, to provide a projecting edge at the bottom of the final product.

The rubber mid-sole having been applied over the bottom of the skeleton, a coating of cement is applied to the bottom of the mid-sole and a leather outer sole is applied. This leather outer sole is of the same shape and size as the midsole, so as to insure that their edges will be in substantial alignment. When the insole, midsole and outer sole are cemented and assembled a vulcanizable foxing strip 1 is applied to the edges of the elements, and to the lower portion of the upper, as shown at 12.

When the parts are thus assembled, the preformed slipper is placed in a mold l3 and vulcanized under heat and pressure. In the vulcanizing step, the mid-sole and foxing strip soften and merge into an integral homogeneous mass, thus embedding the anchor I and securing the fabric upper and mid-sole together. At the same time the rubber merges into and fills the interstices and grips the fibers of the canvas layer of fabric and the leather outer sole and thus unites these elements. In addition to the upper and mid-sole being secured together by the anchor, the foxing strip, when vulcanized not only merges with the edge of the mid-sole and forms a part thereof, but the foxing strip becomes attached to the edge of the leather outer sole and the lower portion of the fabric upper above the line of the mid-sole. The fibers of the fabric upper and the leather outer sole become embedded in the vulcanized foxing strip and at the same time the rubber takes in and becomes embedded in the interstices of the leather of the outer sole and the fibers of the upper.

During the vulcanizing step the mid-sole becomes somewhat plastic, and due to the pressure and heat the lower surface of the rubber is forced into the interstices of the inner surface of the outer sole, while the upper surface of the rubber is forced into the interstices of the inner sole 3. In addition to this forcing of the rubber into the interstices of the rubber and leather, the rubber takes hold of the fibers of these elements, thus binding the parts together.

As will be seen a bedroom slipper or shoe made in accordance with my invention consists of a unit composed of a leather outer sole, a flexible inner sole and a mid-sole of rubber, the rubber mid-sole with the use of the rubber foXing strip efiectively tieing the elements together in a substantially homogeneous mass around and at the bottom of the shoe. Tieing together of these elements through the homogeneous mass of rubber and the foxing strip and mid-sole with the anchoring of the ends of the upper and inner sole in the mass of rubber a substantial distance from the outer edge of the shoe, over a leather outer sole, produces a strong durable shoe which possesses all the characteristics of a bedroom slipper as well as a slipper capable of use for ordinary wear.

The slipper described possesses a most important advantage in that the inner sole is partially formed by the upper and this particular part of the inner sole or bottom of the shoe is directly.

over the leather outer sole which extends beyond the outline of the shoe.

While my invention is directed primarily to bedroom slippers and the like, it has been demonstrated the invention is applicable to bowling shoes, specialized gymnastic shoes and oxfords, basketball shoes, and more or less to all general types of athletic footwear whether of the shoe or oxford type. This is due to the fact that the leather sole and the mid-sole and the upper of the shoes, through the use of a rubber or similar plastic compound foxing strip, are vulcanized together, and thus an inseparable mass is formed.

What I claim is:

A flexible bedroom slipper comprising a flexible fabric upper, the lower end portion of which is turned inwardly at an angle, a flexible inner sole, stitches uniting the inturned end of the flexible upper and the end of the flexible inner sole, the extended ends of the upper and inner sole beyond the stitches forming anchors, a rubber midsole vulcanized to the flexible inner sole and the turned in portion of the upper, the anchors being embedded in the mid-sole, a leather outer sole vulcanized to the bottom of the mid-sole, and a foxing strip vulcanized to the edges of the leather outer sole, mid-sole and to the lower portion of the fabric upper.

JOHN HOZA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

